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Ayah
Word by Word
وَلَا
And not
بِقَوۡلِ
(it is the) word
كَاهِنٖۚ
(of) a soothsayer;
قَلِيلٗا
little
مَّا
(is) what
تَذَكَّرُونَ
you remember
وَلَا
And not
بِقَوۡلِ
(it is the) word
كَاهِنٖۚ
(of) a soothsayer;
قَلِيلٗا
little
مَّا
(is) what
تَذَكَّرُونَ
you remember
Translation
Nor the word of a soothsayer; little do you remember.
Tafsir
Nor [is it] the speech of a soothsayer. Little do you remember! (read both verbs either in the second person plural or in the third person plural; the maa [preceding both verbs] is extra, intended for emphasis). The meaning is: they believed and remembered only very few things of what the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him did, [things] such as [his] good acts, [his] kindness to kin and abstinence; yet this will be of no avail to them.
The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah
Allah swears by His creation, in which some of His signs can be seen in His creatures. These also indicate the perfection of His Names and Attributes. He then swears by the hidden things that they cannot see. This is an oath swearing that the Qur'an is His Speech, His inspiration and His revelation to His servant and Messenger, whom He chose to convey His Message, and the Messenger carried out this trust faithfully.
So Allah says,
فَلَ أُقْسِمُ بِمَا تُبْصِرُونَ
وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ
إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
So I swear by whatsoever you see, and by whatsoever you see not, that this is verily the word of an honored Messenger.
meaning, Muhammad. Allah gave this description to him, a description which carries the meaning of conveying, because the duty of a messenger is to convey from the sender. Therefore, Allah gave this description to the angelic Messenger in Surah At-Takwir, where he said,
إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ ذِى قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِى الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ مُّطَـعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ
Verily, this is the Word of (this Qur'an brought by) a most honorable messenger. Owner of power (and high rank) with Allah, the Lord of the Throne. Obeyed and trustworthy. (81:19-21)
And here, it refers to Jibril.
Then Allah says,
وَمَا صَـحِبُكُمْ بِمَجْنُونٍ
and your companion is not a madman. (81:22)
meaning, Muhammad .
وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ بِالاٍّفُقِ الْمُبِينِ
And indeed he ﷺ him in the clear horizon. (81:23)
meaning, Muhammad ﷺ Jibril in his true form in which Allah created him.
وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ
And he is not Danin with the Unseen. (81:24)
meaning, suspicious.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَـنٍ رَّجِيمٍ
And it (the Qur'an) is not he word of the outcast Shaytan. (81:25)
This is similar to what is being said here.
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ قَلِيلً مَا تُوْمِنُونَ
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ قَلِيلً مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe!
Nor is it the word of soothsayer, little is that you remember!
So in one instance Allah applies the term messenger to the angelic Messenger and in another instance He applies it to the human Messenger (Muhammad). This is because both of them are conveying from Allah that which has been entrusted to them of Allah's revelation and Speech.
Thus, Allah says,
تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
This is the revelation sent down from the Lord of all that exists.
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